The X-Men is partly a tale of the conflict between Charles Xavier, who believes mutants such as his X-Men and humans can learn to live in peace together, and Magneto, the mutant "terrorist leader", who believes mutants will always be in danger from humans until they become the dominant species.

House of M gives us a world where Magento's dream has become reality, thanks to the reality-warping powers of Wanda, his daughter.

There's a lot of mind-bending alternate reality fun, as we learn what has happened to well-known Marvel characters in this brave new world, and a little bit of philosophising as some of the heroes debate whether things have actually changed for the better. And a big, big fight at the end.